India's hopes of reaching the semifinals of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 are hanging by a thread, with the Harmanpreet Singh-led side needing a big win against Argentina and favourable results in the other Pool E match to stay alive in the tournament. India suffered a 1-3 defeat against defending champions and hosts the Netherlands in their opening match of the second stage, leaving them without a point and at the bottom of Pool E with a goal difference of -4. The final round of Pool E matches on Monday will see India take on Argentina at the Wagener Stadium, while England face the Netherlands. The Netherlands currently lead the pool with six points, while England and Argentina have three points each. India therefore need to beat Argentina convincingly and hope England lose to the Netherlands to have any chance of finishing among the top two and progressing to the semifinals. A three-goal victory would take India to three points and improve their goal difference to -1, while A...
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand's extraordinary run ended with a fighting three-game loss to world No. 1 and defending champions Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning in the women's doubles semifinals at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi on Saturday, as the Indian pair signed off with a maiden bronze medal. The unseeded Indians produced a sensational start to pocket the opening game but could not sustain the pressure against the mighty Chinese pair, going down 21-18, 13-21, 8-21 in an hour and 11 minutes. India last won a BWF World Championships medal in women's doubles in 2011, when Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa claimed bronze in London. The Indian pair didn't have a favourable head-to-head record against the Chinese, having lost six times with just one to show in seven meetings so far. However, Treesa and Gayatri raced to a 7-2 lead to put the Chinese pair under early pressure. Liu and Tan quickly fought their way back with a series of sharp rallies. Six straigh...